Aleksander Chan

A brave human went ahead and asked famed on-set drama queen Katherine Heigl—who was hobnobbing to promote her new NBC show, State of Affairs, as part of the Television Critics Association's summer press tour—whether she considered herself (and her mother-manager) difficult to work with. She doesn't.

"I can't really speak to that. I can only say that I certainly don't see myself as being difficult. I would never intend to be difficult. I don't think my mother sees herself as being difficult. We always … I think it's important to everybody to conduct themselves professionally and respectfully and kindly. If I've ever disappointed somebody, it was never intentional."

Heigl was also asked to elaborate further on her comments, namely to Marie Claire UK last month, that she had "lost control" of her career. After a moment of silence and pressing from State of Affairs producer Ed Bernero ("Seriously, I want to hear from Katherine."), she answered. From Vulture:

"I don't know that I said I felt my career was not under my control," Heigl said. "I think I said I felt I had stopped challenging myself and I was making choices that I loved, that I was excited about. I loved doing romantic comedies, I loved doing them and I loved watching them, but I stopped … exercising different muscles of my ability. And in that moment, I felt that I was sort of letting down my audience, that I wasn't challenging them either."

Heigl continued: "I think that this opportunity is — and I think a lot of people want to know why this show, why come back to television — it's because it's an extraordinary role, it's an extraordinary opportunity, and an extraordinary story, and it's an opportunity for me to flex some different muscles and show a different side of myself as an actor and a performer and a storyteller that I hope my audience will be excited about and love."

And when asked why/how her mother Nancy landed an executive producer role on the show, she explained: "She bakes us cookies." Her mother answered, "[Katherine and I] work as a partnership. I am her mother for sure, so of course I have her best interests, but I'm really learning. But it's been fun and it's been interesting. I'm really new to it."